The level of professional development and functioning of the academic adviser is discussed. According to Canon (1976), professionals function on three levels of development. Advisers at the first level of functioning are primarily identified to their professional subspecialty and subunit (e.g., peer advising, undeclared students). Such staff people are generally unaware of others and duplicate what others are doing. On the second level are staff whose primary identification is to the entire student enterprise. They function cohesively, securely, and cooperatively. Finally, advisers at the third level of staff development are the most effectively and conceptually linked with others, because their programs are interwoven with the bulk of the institution's goals that extend beyond the realm of support services. This three-level scheme is used to assess the level of professional development or functioning suggested by programs presented at the 1983 meeting of the National Conference on Academic Advising. It is judged that 46 percent of the conference presentations were intended for an audience functioning at level 1, while 39 percent were designed for a level 2 audience, and 15 percent was directed toward the interests of a level 3 audience. Implications for the field of academic advising are noted. (SW)